1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to particles and their uses.
2. Description of the Related Art
The preparation of metal oxides, silicon dioxides and silicas in wet-chemical precipitation processes and high-temperature reactions is known.
A disadvantage of known processes for preparing fumed silicas is the correlation between the specific area of the silica and the relative viscosity or thickening action ηrel in liquid media.ηrel=η/η0 In this formula, η is the viscosity at 25° C. of the liquid, of the liquid mixture or of any other liquid mixtures which comprise inventive particles, preferably silica, in finely distributed and dispersed form, and η0 is the viscosity at 25° C. of the liquid, of the liquid mixture or of any other liquid mixture which does not comprise these particles or silica.
The correlation between relative viscosity or thickening action ηrel and specific surface area limits the scope of use of non-surface-modified and surface-modified silicas greatly.